Poon Hill route: a staircase, a forest, a sunrise, a village

The profile: steep on day one, early on day three, downhill on the last

The Poon Hill has no altitude problem, it has a staircase problem. Day 1 gains a thousand metres from Nayapul to Ulleri, most of it on the famous stone steps from Tikhedhunga – 3,000 to 3,500 depending on who counts. Day 2 is the finest hiking day: 800 m through forest to Ghorepani, no step marathon. Day 3 starts at four with a headlamp: an hour up Poon Hill, forty minutes of sunrise, down for breakfast, then either the way back or the trail to Tadapani. Day 4 is descent: 700 m to Ghandruk, then a drive or a further descent to Nayapul.

If you want to spare your knees, book the loop rather than out and back: the descent via Tadapani and Ghandruk is long but even; the descent down the Ulleri staircase is short and brutal.

Itineraries of the products

From the Viator product data, shortened. Altitude figures vary between operators by up to 200 m (Ghorepani is given as 2,675 to 2,880 m); we quote the operators' values and use 2,860 in the profile. Nepal Wilderness, MTA and Eco Holidays have no itinerary in their data.

Day 1 · Nayapul → Ulleri · ≈ 10 km · 5–6 h

First the river, then the stairs. Three thousand steps, no joke.

Nayapul is where the road and the city's phone signal end. From Tikhedhunga the trail climbs as a stone staircase to Ulleri – the stretch everyone warns about and everyone manages if they walk slowly. Take the jeep to Ulleri and you skip it, along with the first hiking day.

2,050mUlleri

What differs here✓Transport from Pokhara included by all – local bus, jeep or private car

Day 2 · Rhododendronwald vor Ghorepani · ≈ 12 km · 4–5 h

In March and April the whole slope blooms red.

Day two runs through forest: oaks, magnolias and rhododendrons that are trees here, not bushes. Come in spring and you walk beneath red crowns; come in autumn and you get the clearer view of Dhaulagiri appearing between the trunks.

2,600mRhododendronwald vor Ghorepani

What differs here?Porter: not mentioned by five of seven products

Day 2 · Ghorepani · Abend

Blue roofs, a wood stove, and Dhaulagiri in the window.

Ghorepani is a teahouse village: lodges with a dining room around the stove, rooms with two beds, hot shower for a fee. Every version sleeps here, and here the wake-up call comes at four.

2,860mGhorepani

What differs here✓Teahouse included by all; private rooms with Nepal High Trek and Sisne Premium◐Meals: three products in full, two not, two by class

Day 3 · Poon Hill · ≈ 1 h Aufstieg

At a quarter past five it is quiet. Then Dhaulagiri turns pink.

An hour uphill by headlamp, a viewing tower at the top, a tea stall and two hundred others. Then the light hits Dhaulagiri first, 8,167 m, and travels across Annapurna South and Hiunchuli to Machapuchare. It is the reason for the whole trip, and it lasts about forty minutes.

3,210mPoon Hill

What differs here✓Poon Hill on the morning of the pass day in every version

Day 3 · Ghorepani → Tadapani · ≈ 14 km · 5–6 h

The stretch the short versions skip.

After breakfast the routes part: two- and three-day versions descend back to Ulleri, the four- and five-day loop continues over Deurali Pass through forest to Tadapani – with Annapurna South right in front of the terrace. The finest stretch of the trek.

2,630mTadapani

Day 4 · Ghandruk · ≈ 8 km · 3–4 h

Slate roofs, rice terraces, and the mountain behind it all.

Ghandruk is the largest Gurung village of the region, with a museum, stone houses and a terrace from which Annapurna South and Machapuchare look painted. The five-day loop stays the night; the four-day loop has lunch and drives to Pokhara.

1,940mGhandruk

What differs here✓Return from Ghandruk or Nayapul included everywhere

The route in stages: altitudes and itineraries from the operator data, photos illustrate the places. The boxes show where the four compared offers differ at the same spot.

Stops and walking times from the operator's Viator product data, edited for length. Maps and figures illustrate the route and are not for navigation.

Teahouses: how the nights work

A teahouse is a family lodge with twin rooms, thin walls, a dining room with a wood stove and a menu that is the same on every trek: dal bhat, noodle soup, momos, pancakes, milk tea. Rooms cost little, the money is made on food – which is why many packages include lodging but not meals. Hot shower, wifi and charging cost extra in Ghorepani; in Ghandruk comfort is higher. Sleeping bag: teahouses provide blankets; a light sleeping bag or liner is pleasant in autumn and winter, dispensable in spring.

When to go: October for the views, March for the rhododendrons

October and November are the main season: clear air after the monsoon, reliable views from Poon Hill, full teahouses. March and April are the second season: warmer, hazier, but the rhododendron forest blooms red – for many the reason to come exactly then. December to February is cold and clear, with snow possible from Ghorepani up; Nepal Wilderness provides microspikes for it. June to September is monsoon: rain, leeches, clouds in front of the mountains – the trek is walkable, the sunrise often not visible.

Questions about the route

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